Gucci embraces geek chic at Milan Fashion Week

It’s been two years since Italian-born Alessandro Michele began as creative director of Gucci, and in this short amount of time the 44-year-old designer took the famed fashion house in a new, much more modern direction.

[source: Elle]

On Wednesday, February 22, Michele debuted a unified men’s and women’s Fall/Winter collection during Milan Fashion Week, according to Elle. The 120-piece collection–known as The Alchemist’s Garden: An Anti-Modern Laboratory–featured a “madcap mashup of styles shown on models who wound their way through a glass tunnel set next to a pyramid with a weathervane on top.”

Emphasis clearly was on the future from the get-go; even the invitations read “What Are We Going To Do With All This Future?”

[source: Elle]

Michele gave traditional Gucci a futuristic, over-the-top twist. “A hodgepodge of looks inspired by various decades as filtered through the Gucci lens,” including a sparkling full-length bodysuit paired with a relaxed t-shirt and cut-off shorts, an ornate white gown covered in floral appliqués and an all-black outfit complete with a mysterious eye-covering hat fit for a femme fatale, according to Elle.

The collection was “a magpie’s delight, and truly [included] something for everyone.”

Of course, none of Michele’s collections are complete without a layers of accessories and embellishments; he is, after all, a former leather goods design director for the label, according to Business of Fashion.

“Models rocked mullets, carried chinoiserie umbrellas [and] donned multiple fanny packs,” according to Elle. A few even carried luggage down the runway.

Amid septum jewelry and a sea of bold patterns were plenty of cardigans, tea-length skirts and high-rise socks that looked as if they belong to an impossibly chic 22nd century granny. Outfits were accented with a plethora of pearls, oversized collars and librarian-inspired eyeglasses.

Another notable accessory on Michele’s most recent runway was the oversized belt. Leather belts adorned with metal details contrasted the feminine floral prints and tartan plaids they accessorized, while 80s-style shoulder pads and hairdos seemed fashionably out of place on oriental patterns. Headwear was also big; most models wore larger than life hats, thick headbands or hair-hiding head scarves as they made their way down the catwalk.